Upon A Dream
by EchoEternal
Summary: Slash-fic, dream-fic. After obtaining a mysterious pendent, Bowser tries to rest from his everyday stresses. However, his dream seems to refuse him an easy respite.


Gosh, it's been a minute since my last one-shot. How goes it, Mario readers?

Distracted myself for a couple of days and scrambled to scribble up a fluffy story for a particular couple. This is perhaps an overdue thanks for the many views that readers have given my other fanfics, so thank you all for that!

In case you're new, some warnings:

\- Slash-fic: A gay fanfic story between 2 male Mario characters. Don't like, don't read.

\- Dream-fic: The bulk of the story's events occur within a dream.

\- Fluffy one-shot: This doesn't feature a wild plot, just a quick series of nonsense involving the main characters.

Ok, well, if you're still here, then please, feel free to continue and read below! Enjoy.

... ... ...

* * *

Within the dark castle of the Mushroom Kingdom's molten lands, Bowser drags himself up the stairs of his tower. He clutches a golden chain, with a pendant swaying from each passing step he takes.

Along his climb, several Goombas and Koopas scurry past him, but as they do, each gives him a comment.

"Lord Bowser! You've returned!"

"Beat that Mario yet, sire?"

"Is Princess Peach here too?"

"What've you got there, Lord Bowser?"

"Your son, the prince, is looking for you, sire."

"How'd it go today, Your Wretchedness?"

"The Koopalings made a mess of the Airship…again."

"Did you take over the kingdom today?"

"Will you approve this leave request, Mister Bowser?"

"Have you got a new plan, my lord?"

Groaning with each passing comment, Bowser clasps his head, holding in a heavy roar that he would've otherwise unleashed by this point. But tonight, he only pants as he trudges to the top, and hastily pushes through the door to enter his bedchambers.

"Papa, Papa!" Bowser drags his hands down his face as his young son darts through the dark, stony corridor, and over to him. "I made a really cool painting today! Also, I broke one of the arms on my Clown Car, so can you get me another one?"

"Sure, sure." Bowser massages his temples. "Is Kamek up here still?"

"Yeah…" Junior sighs and folds his arms. "He keeps bothering me about going to bed on time."

"Well, son, he does have a point," advises Bowser. "A great king needs to get enough rest to make good judgments during his daily reign."

"I guess." Junior pouts and spins around. "Fine, I'll go let him out."

"Good." Bowser blinks. "Wait, what?"

"Oh, I locked him in the closet after the fourth time of him telling me that."

"Junior…"

"Don't worry, Papa, I'll let him out and go to bed." He smiles to his father. "But only because you told me to!"

The prince hurries down the hall. Bowser smirks until his son is far enough away, and then heaves as he slouches.

"Thank the Stars…"

A sharp yelp and a thud come from further down the hall. Junior laughs as he disappears down the corridor, retreating to his bedroom. Bowser slogs across the hall, bumping into a desk, and fumbling as he shoves a statue and a vase back into place. Turning back, he lumbers along the hallway, barely focusing on Kamek as the Magikoopa forces himself up from the floor.

"The nerve of that little…!" Kamek spirals around and shrieks at the sight of Bowser. "Little, ah, little child! Haha, oh…what a mischievous…hello there, Lord Bowser, sire."

"Kamek."

Adjusting his spectacles, Kamek tilts his head and glances up at Bowser, as the king's head hangs and his arms dangle. Kamek taps on his wand and waves to Bowser, who slowly blinks in response.

"Uh…sire? Is…everything all right?"

"Absolutely."

"Your latest mission in that retrieval of the artifact was—?"

"Look, see?" Bowser lifts the chain for the amulet. "Beat Mario to getting this thing, and he had no idea what I stole when I got there." A sloppy grin forms onto his face. "Thought he could pull a fast one on me, bwahaha…haha…ha…"

"…Right…" Kamek clears his throat. "Well, ah, shouldn't you…maybe look into what that would do, or perhaps—?"

"Bah, I'll work on it in the morning or something." He digs his hand into his messy red hair. "I think I got a bump somewhere from where he jumped on me…?"

"Do you want ice?"

"No."

"Should I gather something to treat—?"

"Nah."

"Are you sure that you don't need anything?"

"It's fine, I'm fine, and everything is fine!" Bowser punches his door open, and it slams against the wall. "…I meant to do that."

"Naturally."

"Look, just…" Bowser drags his hand over his face. "Come find me in the morning. I've got to run down my list, but we'll get started on a new scheme to kidnap Peach."

"Lord Bowser, are you certain—?"

"Of course I am!" He forces up a grin. "After all, she belongs with me. As does her kingdom."

"Yes, of course," murmurs Kamek, and mutters more beneath his breath. Bowser raises an eyebrow, but Kamek merely shakes his head. "Well, if you have no further need of me, then I'll retire for the night."

"Good, finally." A heavy yawn escapes him. "Night, Kamek."

"Goodnight, Lord Bowser."

Dragging himself into his room, Bowser plods past his ebony dresser, glancing at his disheveled reflection in the mirror. He grumbles as he rubs his head, and stumbles to his bed. Tossing the pendent on his end table, Bowser flops onto his bed and groans.

"Stupid Mario…always ruining my plans…" He rolls around grabs at his pillow. "This stupid amulet is supposed to…" Bowser yawns. "Supposed to give me the dreams I want…no, grant my dreams to…ugh, which was it…?" Shaking his head, Bowser rolls around again, pushing his blankets out of place. "Peach is supposed to be mine, and so is her kingdom…all mine…" He snorts. "Why can't Mario just let me have that? He doesn't get…anything…"

His eyelids weigh on him, and he blinks as his head slumps a bit. Bowser shakes himself, forcing his arms up to take off his collar and spiked armbands.

"Ugh…one of these days…" Another yawn escapes him. "One day, I'll…rule the whole kingdom…and then…Mario will…he'll…"

Slumping back, Bowser barely manages to tug his quilt over his chest before he passes out, snoring as he drifts to sleep.

The amulet near him shimmers, as the red diamond jewel glitters in its center.

…

* * *

…

Stirring from his slumber, Bowser rolled around as his eyes narrowly opened. He winced and tugged at his blanket, pulling it back over his face.

"Too bright…"

He groaned and slowly lowered his blanket, peeking at his end table. He scowled, with the pendent missing from its resting place.

"Who took…?"

Pushing himself up from the mattress, the quilt fell from him as Bowser rubbed his eyes. Barely adjusting to the light, he blinked once, and then twice. His eyes widened a bit, as he took in the room around him.

His dark, black and red bedchambers were cloaked in brighter, blue and white paints. Though his bed sheets were still red, they were softer and lighter. His ebony dressers and wardrobes were now ivory or mahogany colored. The floor sported carpeting. There were neither stones nor bricks in sight. Sunlight poured in from a window that shouldn't have been at the opposite end of his room.

As he leaned back, Bowser's hand bumped against something. He patted around, and felt an arm, a shoulder, and then the rest of the body. Twisting around, a slight grin of hope had formed on his face, but vanished at the sight of who was with him.

"Finally awake?" Mario chuckled. "It's not like you to sleep in."

Jumping from the bed and crashing over the side of it, Bowser scrambled backwards as Mario hopped up.

"Oh no!" Mario leaned over the edge of the bed. "Are you ok, Bowser?"

"Absolutely not!" Bowser shot up from the ground. "Just what do you think you're doing in my bed?!"

"…Our bed."

"Huh?"

"This one is our bed," corrected Mario, as he tossed aside his nightcap and brushed his hair. "You know, the biggest one?" He sighed. "You know, I figured we should've kept the old ones, even though we barely used them."

"What are you even talking about?!"

"Don't you remember the extra beds we had?" Mario tilted his head. "You're the one that insisted on getting rid of them, and you were adamant that we'd be fine sharing a bed going forward."

"In what kind of fantasy land are you imagining?!"

"See, that's why I wasn't sure." He frowned. "I thought you weren't comfortable with it."

"I'm not comfortable with any of this!"

"You seemed so last night."

"What?!"

"Well, you were the one snuggling me," teased Mario. "Pulled me close, whispered about how nice my hair smelled, buried your face against my neck—"

"Stop, stop, stop!" Bowser clawed at his head and pushed himself back against his wardrobe. "This…this can't be right. Why are you even here, why are you in my castle?"

"…Huh?"

"Mario, what are you doing in my castle?!"

"…Is this a joke?" Mario raised an eyebrow as he folded his arms. "Did I miss something? You were so sweet last night."

"Are _you_ joking with _me_?!" Bowser wildly shook his head. "Why would I have you in my castle?"

"Well, normally spouses live together."

"Wh…what?"

"Spouses. Husbands." Frowning again, Mario lifted his hand, pointing at the golden band with rubies on it. "We're married. You got us these. Remember?"

"Where in your right mind do you think that I'd…?" Glancing down at his hand, Bowser gawked at the larger, but otherwise matching, wedding band around his finger. "…Who's sick idea was this?!"

"Yours."

"No, no it wasn't!"

"Ok, so I imagined you proposing to me, and our entire wedding ceremony that you invited the entire Mushroom Kingdom to witness."

"The what?!"

"Wedding." Mario blinked as Bowser shook his head. "…The Mushroom Kingdom?"

"Why would anyone come to my wedding, even if it's to you?"

"Because they're your subjects…?" He scratched behind his head, and then tugged on his mustache. "You…don't remember ruling the Mushroom Kingdom?"

"Ruling?!"

"Wow, are you cursed, or was it just the bump on your head that did this?"

"Bump on my…?" Bowser clawed at his head, and traced his bump. "You…you did that to me!"

"Uh, no." Mario wagged his finger. "You're the one that got overly excited, carried me too quickly through the door, and clocked your head on the doorframe."

"You jumped on me and stomped on my head!"

"Oh, mama mia." Mario pulled harder on his mustache. "I'm going to go speak with Kamek and Toadsworth about this."

"Toadsworth?" Bowser shook his head. "Peach's old butler-steward guy?"

"Formerly Peach's, yes." Tapping on his usual red cap, Mario shook his head, and left it dangling on his bedpost. "He stayed with us after she left."

"Left?!" Fumbling around, Bowser swung around. "Where did she go?!"

"To Sarasaland. With Daisy." Pausing for a moment, Mario waited as Bowser's eyes widened. "…Her wife. They're married too."

"Since when?!"

"Before us, actually," recalled Mario. "It was back in…oh wow, I think their second anniversary is coming up!"

"Second?!"

"Yeah, and our first one will be later this year." Mario chuckled. "Luigi will have his next year."

"What?!"

"Oh, right, maybe cursed." Mario hopped from the bed. "Hang tight, I'll go get either Kamek or Toadsworth. One of them should know what to do." He chuckled as he took off his pajamas. "Or maybe I'll find both of them together, whispering sweet nothings—"

"They're dating?!"

"Well, unofficially, but you seem to think it's only a matter of time—"

"No, no, no, no, no." With a growl, Bowser waved his arms around. "This is all some kind of elaborate prank. There is absolutely no way any of this can be happening."

"Uh—"

"In fact, I'm going out now, and I'm grabbing Kamek myself."

"Honestly, I don't think—"

"I don't care!" Bowser whipped himself around and stumbled to the door. "One way or another, I'm getting to the bottom of this!"

"At least get changed first, won't you?"

"Huh?" Bowser spun back. "Into what?"

"Clothes, preferably."

"When do I wear clothes?!"

"Not always, but you have a lot lately, mostly since your grand coronation, at least." Mario shrugged. "I think you'll like how you look."

"As if!" Bowser snarled. "I don't need clothes!"

"No, you definitely don't," murmured Mario as his eyes lowered.

"Quit that!"

"Ha, sorry." Mario ambled over to another wardrobe near the wide window. "Let me just grab mine, and I'll join you."

"For what?!" Bowser swept his arm out. "I don't need you!"

"Ouch."

"I don't!"

"But I thought we looked cute in our uniforms together."

"Our what?!"

Bowser blinked and shook his head, as he spiraled back to Mario. The plumber changed almost instantly, wearing a regal red uniform with white pants. He rolled a large crown around in his hands, but shook his head, and set it back down.

Turning around, Mario blinked before grinning at Bowser.

"Oh, so you did change!"

"Huh?" Bowser glanced down, finding himself in similar royal attire to Mario's. "Aaahh! How?!"

"Wasn't that from the Toad tailor—?"

"Not that!"

With a groan and growl mixed, Bowser hurried from the room and charged into the hall. Two Toads and a Koopa jumped up and flailed about as they fell back. All three scrambled back to their feet as Bowser gazed down at them.

"Oh, King Bowser, sir!" The first Toad clapped his hands together and bounced. "Good morning to you!"

"Great King Bowser, hello!" With a bright beam, the Koopa waved. "You look as dashing as ever!"

"Is King Mario with you as well, Your Highness?"

"Ugh, what is this?" Bowser shook his head. "You Toads hate me! And you never let Koopas around you until they've renounced my kingdom outright."

"Until they what?"

"Why would we hate you?" The second Toad tilted his head. "Lord Bowser, you're our hero!"

"You unified our kingdoms like you always promised." Bouncing, the Koopa held the two Toads' hands in his. "We knew you could do it, and now look at us!"

"Unify…?"

"Ah, hello, thank you all." Mario slid between Bowser and his subjects. "King Bowser is actually a bit late for an appointment with Master Kamek, though, so we need to be off."

"It's King Mario too! Who would've thought?"

"We're in their bedroom halls in the morning," deadpanned the first Toad to the second. "How does this surprise you?"

"He's just excited," reassured the Koopa. "But, come on, let's not hold up our kings! We have posts to return to."

"Yes!"

"Right!"

Giggling together, the trio raced off from the spacious hallway, and Bowser blankly watched them depart. He gazed at the golden corridor, and studied the decorations. Portraits of himself and Mario lovingly wrapped together, both wearing big, goofy grins. Miniature statues of the two were on tables along the side. Vases actually filled with flowers. A sculpture of a Toad and a Koopa holding hands rested towards the end of the hall, with a Goomba behind the Toad and a Yoshi leaning on the Koopa.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Mario smiled to Bowser, who shuddered and twisted back to him. "…Still can't remember, huh?"

"No!"

"Sorry." Mario picked up Bowser's hand. "Come on, let's go—"

"Don't touch me!" Bowser tugged back his hand from Mario's.

"Oh…" Crestfallen, Mario dropped his arms. "Sorry again."

"How the heck are we even in Peach's Castle right now…?" Scratching under his chin, Bowser wandered forward, gazing around at the corridor of the castle. "This is crazy."

"Actually, it's our castle," corrected Mario.

"Why are you still following me?!"

"Someone should keep an eye on you," persisted Mario. "If you don't want it to be me, then maybe you can get one of the kids."

"Kids? Plural?"

"Junior or any of the Koopalings?"

"…Oh." Bowser brushed away at his head. "If you told me we had adopted a bunch of kids, I'd have lost it."

"Well, we did."

"Huh?!"

"The Koopalings." Mario shrugged. "Their parents lost interest in them, and we agreed to adopt all seven." He chuckled. "Eight kids total."

"That's insane," snapped Bowser. "Morton Senior would never let me have them all."

"Papa?"

Jerking back, Bowser spun around, and spotted Junior down the hall. He exhaled as he relaxed his shoulders, and stepped toward his son, who charged across the hallway and jumped to his father's arms.

"Good morning Papa!"

"Ha, good morning, son." Bowser grinned, but dropped it as Junior wiggled around. "What's wrong?"

"You're hogging me, Papa," complained Junior, as he broke free from his father. "Don't be mean to Pops!"

"Who?"

"Pops!"

Junior bounced around and jumped into Mario's arms, as he laughed and hugged the young Koopa prince. Bowser's mouth dropped open again, as the pair laughed together and spun around. Noticing Bowser eyeing them, Mario lowered Junior down and gently patted his head.

"Sorry, Junior, but we've got work to do," explained Mario. "Did you happen to see Kamek or Toadsworth anywhere?"

"Probably making out behind the throne room," mocked Junior. He stuck his tongue out and groaned. "Old guys smooching are gross!"

"Hey, come on now, that'll be us some day," reminded Mario.

"But that's years and years away!"

"Ah, you've got me there." Mario chuckled as he patted the child's head. "So, where are your brothers and sister?"

"Probably already out training for the next sports tournaments." Junior rolled his eyes. "They're always practicing for everything!"

"Don't you like joining in with them?"

"…Sometimes," admitted Junior. "But I didn't see them today."

"That would be because we haven't gone out yet, little brother."

Junior, Mario, and Bowser gazed to the end of the corridor, where the seven Koopalings waited. Each had different sports equipment with them, prepared to practice baseball, basketball, tennis, or volleyball. Ludwig stepped forward again.

"So, are you going to come with us?"

"Come on, Junior," piped up Lemmy. "You can team up with me!"

"Absolutely not, he's on my team," insisted Wendy.

"Only if he wants to get creamed," mocked Roy. "Team up with me, kid."

"Oh, but, I wanted to paint…"

"We'll watch you do that later," offered Morton. "It'll be a nice way to relax after."

"That should work out," agreed Iggy. "Junior's art always turns out so well."

"Yeah, so, come on, Junior!" Larry dashed over and took Junior's hands. "It'll be fun, and then we can see how great you've gotten!"

"Um…ok."

"Great, let's go!"

Most of the Koopalings hurried off, as Lemmy giggled and turned to chase them, but waited a moment, turning back to Mario and Bowser. "See you later, King Dads!" He laughed and hurried after his siblings.

Waiting in silence for a moment, Bowser opened his mouth, but slowly let it close. Mario turned to him, and reached out, but hesitated, and lowered his arm.

"Bowser? Are you ok?"

"They…practice sports…and play together with Junior," he murmured.

"Yeah. Junior wasn't kidding, they do that a lot."

"But they usually train for combat, and they're always getting into fights…"

"There's not a lot of need to practice for battling," revealed Mario. "No one's challenged the Mushroom Kingdom or our allies in a long time." He smiled. "Plus, they're all kids, so they shouldn't be preparing for war at all, right?"

"When…we were desperate and short on…" Bowser scratched his head. "They don't do that anymore?"

"Which, practice spells or training for war?"

"Both."

"Ah, well, not much of either, no."

"That's…nice."

"Hm." Mario rubbed behind his neck. "We really need to get you to Kamek and Toadsworth." He poked Bowser and started down the corridor. "Follow me, they're probably waiting for us in the throne room."

Though still in awe, Bowser slowly plodded after Mario. The red and gold hallways of what should have been Peach's Castle seemed to blur together. Nothing of her reign remained inside, with only Bowser and Mario's decorations within. Portraits featured the two of them, Junior, the Koopalings, even Toadsworth, Kamek, and some other Toads, but none of Peach herself.

"This makes no sense," muttered Bowser.

"We'll get that figured out, I promise," reassured Mario.

The two went through a doorway, and passed by window after window. The light glistened in from the outside, and they surveyed the gardens in the back.

Catching a different angle, Bowser paused before his reflection. "…Huh. This outfit does look nice." He glanced at the red and white uniform over him, pivoting a bit to check how neatly it fit him.

"Doesn't it?"

"A bit snug by the waist, though."

"That looks just fine," insisted Mario.

Bowser spun back to him, while Mario cleared his throat and glanced away. Bowser fixated on his hair for a moment, much neater without a hat or a crown atop it. Shaking his head, Bowser lifted his foot, staring at the shoe on it, and raised an eyebrow.

"Why the red and the white?"

"They seem to be the colors that Toads enjoy the most." Mario smirked. "Can't imagine why."

"Red suits you better than it does me." Bowser dropped his leg. "Whose idea was it to put me in these things anyway?"

"Again, yours."

Before Bowser could question it further, the duo arrived at the throne room. Entering, the two observed Kamek and Toadsworth chuckling with one another, sipping tea at a table near the two thrones.

"Do tell me more about your old flame," urged Toadsworth. "He seems so much more endearing when you tell me about it."

"Is that how you think of him?" Kamek flicked at his wand. "I was hoping you would get more jealous hearing about our stories."

"They're so delightful, though!" A grin snuck onto Toadsworth's face, poorly hidden by his mustache. "You seemed like quite the dapper charmer."

"Me?" Kamek laughed and leaned forward. "Shall we get back to you, then?"

"But Kamek's never dated anyone in my lifetime," noted Bowser. "I barely give him enough time for that!"

"Huh?!"

Fumbling out of his seat and crashing to the ground, Kamek shrieked with his thud. Toadsworth bounced up from his seat and straightened up.

"Your Majesties! Our apologies!"

"Just once, can't they knock…?"

"Ha, we wouldn't want to miss such a charming scene, though," teased Mario. He chuckled and Bowser smirked a bit, but shuddered and dropped it. "It's pretty adorable, really."

Toadsworth coughed and struggled to hide his red cheeks. "King Mario, please!"

"Never you mind, Toadsworth." Kamek picked himself up and dusted his robes. "To what do we owe the early visit, Your Highnesses?"

"Well, Bowser seems a bit out of sorts today," relayed Mario. "He seems to be forgetting, ah…pretty much everything."

"That sounds like a dreadful curse," assessed Kamek. "We should do something to restore his memory."

"Is it mine that needs to be restored, or yours?" Bowser placed his hands on his hips. "Just what happened here? Where's Peach?"

"She left with Daisy ages ago," reminded Toadsworth. "Gracious, it's been at least five years, hasn't it? They were married two years ago, even!"

"But why?"

"…Great Stars, you were not kidding, King Mario," realized Toadsworth. "Will we need to explain love from the top, or did he remember the birds and—?"

Kamek cleared his throat. "Let's just figure out how to best help him get his memory back. After all, that New Donk mayor is due to visit later this week."

"Pauline is coming?"

"Yes, King Mario." Kamek adjusted his spectacles. "She and her space girlfriend are due by just before the weekend."

"Oh, she and Rosalina did start dating?"

"Wasn't that obvious, given how they were?" Kamek cackled. "How did they call it, that 'familiar sense of curiosity' or whatever?"

"Well, Pauline does get intrigued by magic, and Rosalina by technology," determined Mario. "So, they make sense together."

"Can we please get back to our problems?" Bowser folded his arms. "I'm still lost at the part where Peach just leaves her kingdom!"

"She just stepped down and decided that you could be in charge here, since she wanted to be with Queen Daisy all the time. They both knew how to make each other happier than anyone else ever could, and Peach loved Daisy's energy. They seemed so perfect together." Toadsworth picked up a cup of tea and sipped a bit. "Queen Peach, seemed to think that you would be most capable of the Mushroom Kingdom, given your history with the land, and guided with Mario at your side."

"And how did that even happen?!"

"You…you're asking about…?"

"My apparent marriage to Mario!"

Toadsworth clasped his hands over his mouth. "Oh my Stars, he has it bad."

"That's what I mean." Mario frowned. "I don't want to keep invading his space, if he's going to be like this the whole while."

"You're joking, right?" Kamek shook his head. "He has no boundaries when he's with you. I don't understand how he's functioning right now."

"Are you serious?!" Bowser stomped his foot. "This whole thing is like living in a complete night…mare…" He blinked and smacked his hand over his face, dragging it down. "Oh, Stars. I'm in one, aren't I?"

"One what?"

"This is some kind of dream, isn't it?"

"Dream?"

"That's the only way my marrying Mario would make sense." Bowser rubbed his chin. "I wonder what else I can do while I'm in this dreamland…"

"Bowser, that's really a bit of an oddball theory—"

"Come here, let's test it!" Bowser grabbed Mario into his arms. "I'll toss you up, and you'll fly straight through the ceiling! Watch!"

He launched Mario up, who wailed as he spun around. Plummeting back down, Bowser gawked and held out his arms, catching Mario back into his arms.

"Wait, what the…?" Bowser frowned. "I should've had control over that!"

"Um." Toadsworth picked up his cane and tapped on its head. "King Bowser, perhaps there are better ways to test such a theory?"

"No, this is going to work!"

Once again, Bowser launched Mario upward, though he gained no height. Sailing back down, Mario landed in Bowser's arms and exhaled the breath he held. Bowser grumbled and swayed Mario about, checking around the throne room.

"If I throw him elsewhere, maybe he'll go through the walls…?" He paused and gazed at Mario, blinking down at him. "You're surprisingly lighter than I realized."

"Great." Mario shook his head and held it for a bit. "Can we maybe not throw me around anymore, please? As much as I like being in your arms, I'm getting a bit dizzy."

Plopping Mario down, Bowser knelt before him, waiting a moment as Mario clutched his head. Blinking, Bowser stared into Mario's blue eyes, and hesitated a moment, focusing on and relaxing under darker blue color. A smile crawled onto Mario's face, and he gazed back into Bowser's eyes.

"Ahem!"

Both jumped and twisted around to Toadsworth and Kamek, who smirked back at the pair.

"Shall we investigate how to clear this up?"

"Just wake me up," insisted Bowser. "Mario, hit me as hard as you can!"

"What?! No!"

"Come on, you do it all the time."

"No I don't!"

"Lord Bowser, I can't recall a time that Mario has even so much as attempted harming you since you two started dating," defended Kamek. "Don't be so cruel."

"Fine. There should be some other way," mumbled Bowser. "Even if I'm the king of this dream, I'm not in control."

"Sounds like you have a lot to learn about dreams," came a new voice.

Everyone turned as Mario's twin hopped from a silver hole in wall behind the thrones. He laughed as Mario jumped up by him.

"Luigi!" The brothers laughed and hugged, swaying around a bit. "What are you doing back here already?"

"We just felt like being nosy and wanted to visit." Luigi pulled from Mario and smiled. Bowser tilted his head, studying Luigi's green and white uniform; it seemed similar to his and Mario's. "You know how he is, wanting to catch up on everyone's business after missing out for so long."

"Who?" Bowser ambled over. "Did you marry King Boo or something?"

"Uh, no, I'm engaged." Luigi frowned. "That's some joke, King Bowser."

"He's a bit off today," cautioned Mario. "He doesn't mean to offend."

"And he doesn't even remember anything," piled on Kamek.

"It's quite odd, and he even thought Queen Peach was still here," added Toadsworth.

"Oh, that's…very, very strange." Luigi rubbed his head. "Uh…King Boo just enjoys dalliances with the other ghosts from the mansions. And I think Professor E. Gadd too, but that's a long story to go over for your amnesia."

"It's not…!" Bowser groaned. "Fine, sure, I lost my memory. Who are you marrying?"

"Me, of course!"

Luigi beamed as a large frog hopped from the portal, wearing a uniform that matched Luigi's. He bellowed a laugh, his belly bouncing with it. Opening his eyes up, he grinned to Luigi, and turned to Bowser after.

"Wait…you're…Wart?"

"What's the matter?" Wart pulled on his blue cape. "You look terribly puzzled."

"It's…but I haven't seen you since…" Bowser blinked and glared at Wart's chest, with the sparkling pendent clearly around his neck. "Wait, you took that from me!"

"Huh? This?" Wart grinned. "This is mine!"

"Dear, he lost his memories," informed Luigi.

"Oh, yeah?"

"What the—why is Luigi engaged to Wart?!" Bowser clawed at his head. "Wart's never even around that much anymore!"

"They both regularly visit us," mumbled Mario.

"Yikes, he's doing awful," decided Wart. "Who else would Luigi want to marry than the King of Nightmares?" He laughed. "I'm the best equipped to defend Luigi from all of his, after all!"

"Wart, dear, come on," pleaded Luigi. "We should just call you 'King of Dreams,' so that it sounds nicer."

"Uh, right, that's…better," relented Wart, tugging his cape over himself. "Not like the other one needs to sound fierce…or cool…"

"So, what is all of this?!" Bowser dragged his claws back past his head. "In this dream, I'm married to Mario, Luigi's marrying Wart, Peach and Daisy are married, and everything's just supposed to be…fine?!"

"…Sounds about right to me!"

"Shut up, Wart."

"What?"

"That's more or less accurate for the couples," confirmed Toadsworth. "Well, three of the royal couples that visit us, anyway."

"Why, who else visits?" Bowser rolled his eyes. "Are you going to tell me this bloated frog brings by that oafish crocodile from the islands next?"

"…King K. Rool?" Wart laughed. "He loves coming back!"

"What?! He's a moron!" Growling, Bowser shook his head. "I don't want him and his blunders anywhere near my castle!"

"But he loves learning from you, and he brings Donkey Kong by all the time," informed Mario. "They're both trying to fix up the island in a way that you've done for the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Bah!"

"How can a king that has it all be so annoyed about everything?" Luigi folded his arms. "Bowser, everyone loves you, and you're just so annoyed about it." He shook his head. "Even if you've forgotten everything, this is just…I don't know, sad."

"This isn't right at all!" He spun to Luigi. "What, am I supposed to just let everything go and be happy that this is how my life is?!"

"Yes." Wart smirked. "After all, everyone else is happy around you. Why not just join in on that?" He tossed his cape back over his shoulder. "After all, even if it's unfamiliar, what's the harm in living a happy life?"

Opening his mouth but delivering no snappy comebacks, Bowser snapped his jaw shut and crossed his arms. He twisted away, and faced back to Mario, who reached over to him, but stopped himself short again. Sighing, Bowser stepped closer to him.

"You really married me?"

"Huh? Yeah!" Mario smiled. "Is it that hard to believe that we could get past things and just…move on, together?"

"Extremely."

"Well, we did." Mario shrugged. "I don't know how else to frame it for you."

"Don't." Bowser picked up Mario's hand. "Show me."

Slowly grinning, Mario guided Bowser through the back door of the throne room, and the two emerged in the gardens. Teeming with flowers, Bowser observed the freshly cut hedges and bushes, admiring how well tended the plants were.

He watched as Goombas and Toads carried baskets of fruit around, laughing as they chattered together. Two Yoshis laughed with a Koopa and a Shy Guy, as they continued about with trimming the last of the hedges. Another Toad helped a Snifit with clearing the pathways of petals, while a Boo giggled and crafted flower crowns for the group.

"Hey look!" Another Shy Guy pointed to the couple. "It's King Bowser and King Mario!"

"Sires, would you like some flowers?"

"Don't be crazy, they want to keep everything growing, not uproot them."

"You two are so cute together!"

Bowser shook his head. "Why do they like us so much?"

"By getting married, we ended up becoming proof that our kingdom could exist in harmony," reasoned Mario. "After all, if we used to be such harsh enemies and were able to put that behind us, why couldn't anyone else?"

Taking Bowser around to the front courtyard, Mario pointed to the Koopalings and Junior playing with the volleyball. Junior spots the pair quickly and waves them over.

"Papa, Pops! Come check this out!" Junior gathered the Koopalings. "Let's show them that big team play!"

"Junior, we're never going to be able to use it—"

"Just have fun, Ludwig!"

Rolling his eyes, yet complying, Ludwig tossed the volleyball up. He smacked it as Larry slid down to bounce it up. Wendy tossed one of her rings to keep it airborne, while Iggy spiraled around and set it up. Morton and Roy flung Junior up to spike the ball down, and Lemmy bounced on his ball to catch Junior from his descent. He jumped from Lemmy and raced over to Bowser and Mario, while Ludwig and Larry scrambled to retrieve the ball.

"Wasn't that so cool?!" Junior excitedly jumped around. "We're working on pulling off moves as a whole team!"

"That's, uh, that's great, Junior." Bowser rubbed behind his head. "Um, I'm glad you and the Koopalings get along."

"We're going to make a great team like you and Pops can!" Junior spun around and jumped about. "You always know how to fling him around just right, and then jump together, and make cool shots!"

"Um, of course! Have fun, kids!"

"Yeah!" Junior ran back over to the others. "Our dads are the best!"

Tugging Mario away, Bowser raised an eyebrow at the eight young Koopas gathering back together to continue their game.

"What's he talking about?"

"They're trying to play like we do against all of our friends," explained Mario. "You and I have flashy combinations in, well, all of sports."

"Huh."

"Loosen up, it's for fun," soothed Mario. "Come on."

He pulled Bowser along, and they went back inside of the castle, arriving in a spacious room. Mario guided Bowser to the middle of the room, and placed his arms around his waist.

"Uh…"

"It's a ballroom."

"I knew that!"

"Then don't freeze up on it," joked Mario. "We had the party after the wedding in here, and danced for hours."

Tugging Bowser along, they swayed around and shifted to an imaginary song. Bowser blinked, as their outfits seemed to transform into their wedding attire, and his mouth parted from the abrupt change.

"Dream, dream, right…" Bowser shook his head. "Still…"

"Hey, quit hogging the dance floor," called Luigi. "Wart and I need to practice!"

"Bwahaha, please keep dancing," insisted Wart. "You two look much cuter like that!"

"Wart…"

"Aw, come on, they're doing so well…!"

Deflating as shot a dirty look at the interlopers, Bowser returned his attention to the undeterred Mario, still helping him dance around the room. He started to laugh as the room blurred around them in a quick spin, and Bowser couldn't help but grin from Mario's laughter.

After dancing themselves dizzy, Mario took Bowser to scarf down mini cakes and cookies from the kitchen. They then traveled up to the balcony of the castle, overlooking a large crowd that cheered below.

Some of the subjects came by to their throne room, and Bowser worked with Mario to help negotiate agreements between Toads and Koopas over territories and work permits.

Once they settled such matters, Mario took Bowser out to the back. Night had fallen, and he guided Bowser closely to the hill just beyond the hedges of the garden.

"If we look over that way, we can see the stars," pointed out Mario. "Sometimes you can spot one that shoots by—oh, there's one!" He smirked. "I'd tell you to make a wish, but you always go on about how you have nothing else to…want…"

Mario inhaled and slowly sighed out. He sank down to the grass and quietly watched the stars that filled the midnight sky. Bowser blinked as he sat down beside Mario, and waited with him for a moment.

"…We never did see if Kamek or Toadsworth came up with anything to help you," realized Mario. He weakly chuckled. "Maybe they've come up with something…"

"And then what?"

"Hopefully you remember this, or at least, want it." Mario lowered his head. "It would be nice to have you back to being…you."

"Right, sure."

They sat together in silence, still watching the sky, trying to relax themselves. Bowser lowered his eyes as Mario mindlessly picked at the grass, and he nudged his husband over.

"Hey, what was that for?"

"Seemed fun."

Bowser leaned over Mario and gazed quietly down as Mario stared up. They waited for a moment, as Bowser lowered himself closer to Mario's face. He breathed out against him, and toothily grinned as Mario shivered.

"So you do enjoy me."

"When you proposed, I did agree to all of this," joked Mario. Bowser leaned back and he pushed himself up. "I'm sorry that we've lost our time together."

"Me too," admitted Bowser. "But…uh…I guess that gave us today, huh?"

"That's true." Mario smiled to him. "At least we had some nice time together."

"Yeah." Bowser glanced down at his hand, and lifted it up to show Mario. "And hey, we're still married." He pointed to his wedding band with a grin, and Mario laughed.

"Also true, yes."

Both stood up, a bit quickly, as they stumbled into one another. Mario giggled while Bowser blushed and scratched his cheek. They stood quietly together, as the wind gently blew over the hill.

Leaning in closer, Bowser brought his face back over to Mario's. The two kings lost themselves in each other's eyes again, and slowly came closer together. Their eyes shut as they pressed their lips together, and another gust breezed past them, disappearing tenderly into the night.

…

* * *

…

Bowser opens his eyes as his lips smooch into his pillow. Gagging and sticking his tongue out, he forces himself back from it, and shakes his head. His eyes readjust to the dark bedroom around him, save for a slight pink light crackling nearby.

"Aw, that seemed so sweet," mocked a voice. "To think, you finally caved to him by the end."

A magical portal crackled from the nightstand near Bowser's bed. Tossing his pillow aside, Bowser glared at it, and the one inside of it.

"Wart, you slimy, fiendish frog!" Bowser snarls at the image of the toad warlock. "What are you even doing here?!"

"Warharharhar! Have a nice sleep, Your Wretchedness?"

"You…you made that entire stupid dream?" Bowser's eyes widen as his glower locks onto the grinning Wart. "That whole thing, that was all of your doing, even taking away my control for the dream?"

"Ha, guilty," sang Wart.

"Why did you do all of that?!" Bowser punches his mattress. "And how did you manage it?! You're stuck in that twisted dream realm!"

"Bah, this place can't hold me forever. Magical potions work wonders, after all." Wart waves his hand at the land in the portal behind him. "Subcon's snares weaken every day." He reaches down for his pendent, snatching it from Bowser's table. "And if this little friend of mine keeps leaking out, just imagine what it'll be like when I'm finally free!"

"There's a good reason that you're locked in there," mutters Bowser.

"No, there isn't." Wart forces his amulet back into his portal and drops it back around his neck. "But you'll see soon enough."

"You still didn't answer me." Bowser folds his arms. "What was the point of all that?"

"Simple: don't take my stuff."

"Are you serious?"

"It wasn't meant to be all that complicated," mocks Wart. "You just let your ego seize you for most of that dream, and refused to do the simplest thing to break free."

"Which was?"

"Kiss Mario." Wart laughs. "He was your release the whole time, and you took a whole day just to give into him!"

Bowser roars as Wart ducks further back into his mystic portal. Sinking against his bed, Bowser glares at the ground for a moment.

"You know," offers Wart, "you could consider learning from your dreams."

"What?!"

"Not about taking my property," teases Wart. He softens, and tilts his head as he studies Bowser. "Rather, you seemed…rather happy, by the end of it all." He chuckles. "Perhaps true bliss awaits you, once you finally give in, and sate your hidden desires."

"As if!"

Bowser spits a fireball at the portal, but it vanishes as it connects. Wart, however, falls back from the barrier's impact.

"Make no mistake," warns Bowser. "Mario and I would never get to a place like that, not now, and not ever. My goals are for Peach and the Mushroom Kingdom! Those are what matter most to me!" He bares his teeth at Wart. "Don't ever try messing with those goals ever again! You got it?!"

"Sure, sure, right." Wart rolls his eyes. "Well, at least I got to play around with Luigi for a bit, that was different for me too. Not that I went as overboard over it like you did. But alas, my time with this portal is expiring." He laughs. "So long, gay Bowser!"

Cackling as he disappears into the dream world, Wart snaps his fingers, and the portal vanishes behind him. Bowser growls at it, but then drops his shoulders and shakes his head. He rubs his hands over his face and groans, dropping back on his bed.

"Egotistical idiot," mumbles Bowser. "A world where Mario and I ever get together…that'll be the day."

As he blankly stares at the dark and stony ceiling, Bowser gently touches his lips. A wistful sigh escapes him as he closes his eyes once more.

* * *

... ... ...

Just a cute little fluffy piece between Bowser and his dream version of Mario. Cute, right?

It's been a little while since I've written anything relating to Bowser and Mario as a couple outside of content for my main fanfic, so I felt like scribbling up some silly story for the pairing. It wasn't for much, just something that I rushed together for the fun of it. (Admittedly, it's not my best, hence why I take longer to write up the other stories.)

Nothing much else to add on in here. If you're brand new to reading stories that pair Bowser and Mario off, the name of the couple is known as "Bowsario" by most fans. And if you're interested in something more dramatic (and perhaps even more romantic) about their potential love affair, please feel free to check out my other fanfic, _Eternally Never Yours_, which features Bowser and Mario struggling to balance a relationship as their lives slip out of control.

That'll do it for me. Hope that you enjoyed the story. Thank you for reading!


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